Mia's new life

At the beginning of the month, Mia started her Montessori program. Her class has 11 toddlers, ages 17 months to about 30 months. She is on the younger end, and one of only three girls.
Her first few days were a mix of joyous exploration and separation anxiety. She would cry when I dropped her off. As I would leave the room, the sound of 11 toddlers bawling was enough to break my heart. Each day when I returned, however, she was happy as a clam, talking about her friends and teachers and her cubby.
She's in the fourth week now, and starting next week we're going to change her from half days to full days. She loves it so much there, and she's learning so much already. It makes me sad to know she'll be there for 7 hours a day, but I know that she's well taken care of and that I'll get more work done as a result.
From just the few short weeks she's been at school, I'm beginning to see where Mia's intelligences are growing. I'm a firm believer in the idea of multiple intelligences, the idea that some people are good at things like spatial relations or interpersonal relations while others are mathematicians or scientists, artists or musicians. Mia is incredibly strong in the interpersonal area. She knows everybody's name in her class, and can identify them by the pictures that hang outside the classroom door. She comes home each day and lists each friend, one by one. When she's finished listing her school friends, she then lists all of her other friends, as well as their parents. She's going to be one of those people who remembers everyone's names at cocktail parties, and little details like the type of dog they have or the status of an elderly grandparent. She is empathetic and generous, holding hands and asking for her friends or loved ones to sit with her. While she's not the kind of kid to jump into a group of kids playing at the tot lot, she's definitely already a loyal companion and a true friend to those she knows.
Here she is, holding hands with her BFF Jesse.